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from the Carnival Magic November 11, 2017 - November 18, 2017


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After a rough night, seas have calmed down a lot.

 

We've had a few get-togethers among those of us who met online, including an incidental one last night, randomly seated at dinner with folks who also happen to live nearby.

 

Our initial impressions of the cruise are that lines are more of an issue than we thought they would be. The extent and prevalence of queuing is more significant than we experienced in other cruise lines in the past. Also the hard-sell in the spa seems to be much harder than we experienced on other cruises in the past. Finally, it was much harder to actually meet our cabin steward than on other cruise lines in the past, and even then some requests were honored, some not. Of course, different cruise lines are different and times change besides.

 

 

 

 

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In the spa, before they began we told them we wouldn't be purchasing anything after our couples massage. No hard sell after our insistence to start with.

As to lines, I think you have to pick times for some things and not hit Guy's burgers for example at peak times. We went to the Italian restaurant for lunch on embarkation day with no crowds. We preferred the MDR for most breakfast/brunch to avoid lines, but also the area on deck 5 (Taste Bar) has a nice and uncrowded breakfast and lunch.

With upwards of 30 cabins, it is harder for the steward to spend time with guests and we've had some ninjas, but most want to engage with guests and hopefully yours will honor all requests with a repeated written note or phone call.

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Sounds miserable.
No not really. They're definitely some annoyances. By the same token service in the main dining room was quite nice. The bed is quite comfortable. The bathroom is serviceable and clean.

 

Sea Day brunch was 50/50. It had decent options but for the option I chose (bagel and smoked salmon) the food quality was eh... Definitely a step or two below what I would have prepared for myself if I were home. So you definitely get that feel that you're patronizing institutional cafeteria food but with a very very attractive venue and service proposition.

 

We hit the thallosopy pool for the first time. Nice, but the spa administration of access is inconvenient. It seems clear to me that if some room keys can be programmed to gain access then all room keys should be able to be program to gain access once the purchase is made. Evidently that logic was lost on someone somewhere along the way. But the pool itself is quite relaxing.

 

 

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Gotta say one other thing, in terms of initial impressions... Carnival passengers are, as a whole, friendlier than what I recall from Royal Caribbean and Holland America. Given the circumstances (above) that's even more worthy of note.

 

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He's amusing, the little we've heard him. The announcements aren't piped into staterooms, and don't appear to be available on the stateroom televisions, so the only time we've heard him was during the safety drill.

 

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We ditched the steakhouse this time... We felt it would be an unnecessary expense given our current circumstances.

 

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If you gamble or ever go to the casino, could you ask about or check out the bubble craps machine? It looked like they had one in another review, my question is regarding how the points are calculated. Are they calculated like table games or like video poker/slots? If like the latter, if one spreads $100 does he or she accrue points per roll or are the calculated when the dice pass?

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Today was a lesson in accepting what life gives you. We went to Tulum and it rained hard and continuously for hours and hours. It was impossible to tour the site. Sigh.

 

I will say that even if it didn't rain, I'd suggest choosing a cruise that makes port at Cancun or Playa del Carmen instead of Cozumel, if you want to do something on the mainland.

 

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Today was a lesson in accepting what life gives you. We went to Tulum and it rained hard and continuously for hours and hours. It was impossible to tour the site. Sigh.

 

I will say that even if it didn't rain, I'd suggest choosing a cruise that makes port at Cancun or Playa del Carmen instead of Cozumel, if you want to do something on the mainland.

 

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Did you have a rough ride on the ferry? Sometimes it can really rock and roll. Sorry to hear that the rainy day made for a bad day in Tulum.

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Sorry that this cruise seems as unpleasant as our mutual cruise on the Noordam in ‘08.

 

Oh gosh, nothing like that. That'll go down in "history". :)

 

I have to agree that Carnival passengers, though sometimes exasperating, are really fun.

Their overall good nature and friendliness more than make up for the compromises with regard to amenities.

 

Last night, a little queasy, I wanted something more basic. We had dinner at the pizzaria on the Lido. It was good. Not very sophisticated, and therefore exactly what we needed last night.

 

Our stateroom attendant is not able to keep up with us. We've asked for every refill of the ice bucket, and asked for each day's FunTimes. There's not much extra capacity it seems to get to know the passengers' respective differences and respond to them.

 

Belize today. We're going to Xunitinich.

 

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I would post photos, but Canon's software doesn't work.

 

A couple of notes about Tulum. The hawking reminds me a bit of Eqypt albeit with less genuine merchandise. The "right to market" it just as strong though, which for some may feel intimidating. This carried over to the excursion itself. The guide spent almost no time talking about Tulum, what we believe happened there, etc. On the way to and from Tulum he would hawk things, a cartouche on the way to and a photo in a booklet on the way back. At Tulum he mostly showed photos of Coba and Chitzen Itza, as if Tulum was a wasted trip. I'm glad I did some of my own reading.

 

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just got off the magic..we saw our cabin steward twice..he was kind of an *******. not friendly at all..i have been on multiple carnival cruises and usually look forward to meeting the cabin steward. that was a true dissapointement..

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Belize today. We're going to Xunitinich.

Evidently not. We got all the way to shore (Belize is tenders only) before they chose to let us know that our excursion was cancelled. Bad show.

 

Unfortunately, the other excursion we would have gone on was sold out.

So we're back on the ship now, disappointed about how they handled the situation but hoping to enjoy our day here aboard.

 

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just got off the magic..we saw our cabin steward twice..he was kind of an *******. not friendly at all..i have been on multiple carnival cruises and usually look forward to meeting the cabin steward. that was a true dissapointement..

 

Yes it is clear that they've assigned a ridiculously large number of staterooms to each steward now. You really have to be very assertive if you want anything beyond one cleaning when he can get around to it.

 

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